Engine



N. PETERS. FHOTO-UTHPGRAPHER. WASHINGTON, D C.

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Letters Patent No. 102,486, dated May 3, 1870.

DIRECT-ACTING ENGINE.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To. all whonmt may concern Be it known that I, ADAM Scor'r CAMERON, of the city, county, 'and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Direct- Acting Engines; 'and I do hereby declare the following to be a'full, clear, and exact description thereof', which willl enable those skilled in the art to make and use'thc same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawing forming part of thisspecification, in which drawing- `v Figure 1 represents a longitudinal central section of thisinventiomas applied to a direct-acting blowingengine.

Figure 2 is a detached section of one of the pistonvalves, with an adjustable stem.

f Figure 3 shows a modification of my compensating mechanism, as applied to an auxiliary cylinder, which is detached from the the steam-chest ofthe main cylinder.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts.

rJ.his invention consists in a compensating mechanism composed of a hinged lever and tappet-rod, either the lever or tappet-rod being made adjustable, in combination with an auxiliary cylinder or cylinders, in which the steam is changed by the action of the main piston on said tappet-rod or rods, the piston of the auxiliary cylinder serving to change the slide-Valve'of the main cylinder in such 'a manner that, by means of said compensating mechanism, the valve-motion can be adapted to the speed at which the 'main piston nieves, and the slamming of the' piston against the cylinder-head can -be prevented when the enginemoves rapidly, or waste of' steam can be avoided when the i engine moves slowly, said compensating mechanism being, by preference, so constructed that it can be set while the engine is in motion.

rIhc invention consists, further, in the arrangement of springs, weights, or additional supplementary cylindcrs, iu combination with the levers connected to the piston-valves or secondary slide-valve or slide-valves, for the purpose of closing saidvalves as soon as the same are relieved from the action of the main piston.

The invention consists, also, in the arrangement of air-cushions in combination with-the levers connected to the piston-valvcsor secondaryslide-valve or slidevalves, so as to case said valves to their faces, or prevent thcm from' slamming.'

The invention consists, further, in the arrangement of an air-cushion cylinder, to be controlled by suitable stop-cocks or-valvcs, in combination with the supplementary piston or pistons controlling the motion of the main slide-valve of the steam-cylinder, in'A such a manner that said slide-valve can be moved at anydesired velocity without slamming.

rlhe invention consists. further, in the arrangement of the blowing-cylinder, in such a manner that, in case' .of an accidental dcrangcment of the working parts of the steam-cylinder, the piston, or plunger of the blowing-cylinder, is prevented from slamming against its heads.

In the drawing- 'Ihc letter A designates an ordinary steam-cylinder, provided with a piston, B.

Steam is admitted to this cylinder through ports a a', and it exhausts through the port b, and these ports are opened and closed by the action of the slide-valve C, which is of the ordinary construction, and which may be so alranged that it admits steam under the valve, as-shown in the drawing, or which may be constructed in any other suitable manner.

The slide-valve is seated ou the bottom of the steamchest D, the ends of which form small cylinders, E E', bored out to receive small pistons, F F', whichl are connected to -each other by a rod, G, and this rod is provided with two collars to straddle a standard, c, which rises from the back `of the valve.

Small channels, d d', passing through the pistons F Il", form a communication between the interior ofthe steam-chest and the outer ends ofthe auxiliary cylininders E E', so that said small pistons are exposed to a uniform pressure from ally sides; l

The auxiliary cylindcrsE E' communicate through channels e e' with chambers H H', which are formed in the cylinder-heads or'in projections cast to said cylin'der-heads, or to the ends 0i" the steam-chest, or to any other convenient part of the cylinder or chest'.

These chambers are bored out to receive the pistonvalves I I', and they communicate, by means of channels h h, with the interior of the steam-chest D, said channels being 'so situated that the outer'ends o r` heads of the piston-valves I I' are continually exposed to the pressure of the steam which ills the valve-ches@ and by the action A of the steam, which may be assisted by other forces, as will be presently explained. Said piston-valves are forced up against their seats, and held in such a position that they close the channels e e leading from the chambers H H to the auxiliary cylinders E E', as shown in the drawing.

The area of the transverse section of these channels is much larger than that of the channels d d passing through the pistons F F', so that, when one of the channels e701' fe' is opened, the steam, from the yappropriate auxiliary cylinder E or E rushes out more rapidly ,than it can be supplied through the channels d d', and, consequently, the equilibrium of the pistons F I1" is disturbed, and said pistons are caused tomove toward that end in which the channel e or e' has been opened. In practice, however, the channels d d may be omitted, the leakage round the pistons F F' being ,uiicient to restore the equilibrium in the auxiliary ,ylinders.

The stems ff of thepiston-valves I I extend through ltufling-boxes in thc outer ends of the chambers H H', lud connect to levers J J', which are hinged to standtrds 'L t" secured in the flanges of the cylinder-heads, xr'in any other part of said heads or of the valveihest.

On the levers J J are secured the screw-thim'bles j which are tapped to receive the screw-rods k k', and vhich are so arranged, by pins moving in slots, or by my other suitable means, that they can accommodate ihemselves to the oscillating motion of `their levers.

The screw-rods la It' are operated by'hand-wheels, l i', and they extend through stnfiing-boxes, m m, into :he interior ofthe steam-cylinder A.

As the piston B, movingin said cylinder, approaches either end of its stroke, it comes in contact with the inner. endof the screw-rods k k', and as this rod is forced back the appropriate channel c or c' is opened, the equilibrium of the auxiliary pistons F F' is disturbed, and the slide-valve is changed. The motion.

of the main piston 'is thereby reversed, and as soon as it ceases to act on the screw-rod h or k the appropriate piston-valve 1.01' 1' is carried back to its seat by the action ofthe live steam passing through the channels HH', or by the action of a spring, 'm or m', which acts on the lever J or J', or the springs fm m might be replaced by a weight suspended from a cord running over a pulley attached to the lever, or 'by a supplementary cylinder or piston, or by any other suitable device or mechanism capable of performing.,T the desired object.

With the levers J J are also connected the air-pistons n n", which work in chambers or fcylinders o o', secured to the heads of the main cylinder, and which serve to prevent the pistou-valves I I being slammed against their seats.

By means of screw-rods It k the action of the main piston, in opening thevpiston-valves, can be regulated according to the speed withwhich said main pistou moves, for it is obvious that,when the engine moves rapidly, the increased momentum of the piston makes it indispensable that the same shall commence to act on the screw-rods at a considerable distance from the end of the stroke, in order to be .ble to arrest said piston before it strikes the cylinder-head, and the screw-rods 7c It', are in this case screwed in; but if the engine runs slow, a considerable quantity of steam wonld'be wasted if the screw-rods k k could not be screwed back or adjusted to compensate for thediierence in the speed of the piston. rlhis object may, however, be also obtained by causing the stems of the piston-valves to extend into the cylinder A, as shown in fig. 2 of the drawing, said stems being screwed through their valves and provided with hand-wheels, so that they can be screwed in or out to compensate for the diii'crence in the speed o f the engine. In this case the valves must be provided with feather-keys to preventthem from turning round with theirstems.

The levers J J', instead of 'being connected to the piston-valves I 1', might be connected to secondary slide-valves conti-cling the ports c c', or to a slide-valve controlling the supply and exhaust-ports of an auxiliary cylinder, the piston of whichser/ves to change the main slide-valve, so that, by-adjusting the screw-rods 7c lo', the valve-motion could be adapted to the speed of the main piston. Instead of arranging the rods It' L so that they can be screwed in or out, the fnlcra of the levers J J may be made adjustable, so that-the piston-valves or the secondary slide-valve or slidevalves will be changed with more or less rapidity, aef cording to the position of said fulcra, and without moving the rods 7c It' in or out.

When an auxiliary cylinder, Ef', is used, which is detached from the valve-chest of the main cylinder, as

shown in fig. 3, the. levers J J may be made to extend beyond their bearings t t', their upper ends being connected to a lever, a2, which is mounted oul the stem of theauxiliary slide-valve. j

By providing the levers J J and a? with different holes, the position of the rods connecting said levers can he changed, and thereby the motion of the auxiliary slide-valve can be adjusted according tothe speed of the main piston. In this case the screw-threads on the tappet-rods k k' can be dispensed with. l -The rod G of, the auxiliary pistons F 11" extends through a stuIling-box in the end of the steam-chest, and connects witha piston, K, working in an air-cylinder, L, which is provided with.induction-valves, p, and withescape-channels, q. By this piston and eylinder an air-cushion is formed, which prevents the slide-valves from slamming when the same is worked' rapidly, and theforce of theair-cushions is regulated according to the speed of the engine by enlarging or; diminishing the area of the escape-channels q by means' of stop-valves, r. A

lie rod of the main piston B extends tln'ough stuffing-boxes in both heads of the cylinder A, and it connects at one end with a piston, M, working in an additional large cylinder, N, and at theopposite end with the piston or plunger O, working in the blowing-cylinder P.

The area of the pistou M is about twice as large as that of' the mainl pistou B, and power is imparted to said piston by the exhaust steam from the cylinder A, said exhaust steam being conducted through a pipe, Q, to the steam-chest It of the additional large cylinder N. In this steam-chest works a slide-valve, S, which is secured to a prolongation of the rod G of the auxiliary pistons F lr", so that its motion is controlled by said auxiliary pistons.

By these means a direct-acting engine is obtained, in which the steam is used to the best possible advantage.

The blowing-cylimlei-,P is'provided with a series of suction and escape-valves, and to the inner surface of its heads are secured the elastic cushions s, composed of India rubber or other suitable elastic material, and fastened to the cylinder-heads by screw-bolts inA such a manner that, in case the valve-motion of the steamcylinder should become accidentally deranged, the piston or plunger O will be prevented from slamming against the heads of the blowing-cylinder, and injury to thc working parts will be prevented.

By these means a direct-acting blowing-engine is obtained which can be operated with great economy and with a very good effect.

1 am aware that a compensating mechanism has y,

been used heretofore, as, for instance,l described inthe patent of \V. J. Steavens for steam-pump, dated Sep tcmber 13, 1864, and inv the rejected application of Brown for patent on valve-mechanism, refused J anu-` ary 1, 1857 but in these eases the compensating andV valve-mechanism are actuated from the main piston- `rod, while in my engine the compensating mechanism is combined with a tappet-rod, acted'on by either of the pistons, whereby 1 am enabled to place the cyliu-4 ders close together, and adjust the valve-motion at any moment, as may be required.

\Vl1at I claim as new, and desire to secure by L'et ters Patent, is v v l1. A compensating mechanism composed of a hinged lever and tappet-rod, either the lever or the tappet-rod being 4made adjustable, iu combination with an auxiliary cylinder or cylinders, in which the steam is changed bythe action of the main piston on said tappet-rod, the pistou of the auxiliary cylinder serving to change the slide-valve of the main cylinder, substantially as herein set forth.

2. Ihe combination of screw-rods with-the piston-V valvcs I I', substantially in the manner described.

3. The arrangement of a spring, m or on, or of au equivalent device, acting-on the levrsJ J', which con- 6. The elastic cushions s on the 'inner surfaces of JM trols the valve or valves of the auxiliary cylinder or the heads ofthe blowing-cylinder, substantially as decylinders, substantially as described. scribed.

4. The air-cushions n o, in combination with the A. S. CAMERON.v lever J controling the Valve or'valves of the anxill iary cylinder or cylinders, substantially as set fonh. f, Witnesses:

5. The ain-cushion cylinder L, in combination with W. HAUFF, the auxiliary piston or pistons,an`d with the main E. F. KASTENHUBER.

slidcvelve C, substantially as described, 

